After ending a two-game losing streak with Friday night's victory against the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Hornets are only one-game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference lead.

The Hornets (12-3), who also trail the second-place Los Angeles Lakers (13-3) by a half-game, play host to the Spurs at 2 p.m Sunday at the New Orleans Arena.

The Spurs (13-2) had their 12-game winning streak snapped by the Dallas Mavericks 103-94 Friday night but they remain with the league's best record. The Lakers had their five-game winning streak end with a 102-96 loss to the Utah Jazz Friday night.

While the Spurs and Lakers were unable to avoid setbacks, the Hornets held the Trail Blazers 39.5 percent shooting and won the rebounding battle 48-27 in their 97-78 victory.

It was a turnaround from the Hornets' previous two games, when they allowed the Utah Jazz to shoot 48.8 percent and the Los Angeles Clippers finished at 50.7 percent of their shots. Resulting from their defensive problems, the Hornets lost to the Jazz 105-87 Wednesday night, and 99-95 to the Clippers Monday night.

"It's all about our guys,'' said Hornets Coach Monty Williams after Friday night's game. "They decided yesterday in practice that we need to be a defensive team and we showed signs.''

The Hornets defeated the Spurs 99-90 on Oct. 30 in their first road game of the season. New Orleans will enter Sunday's game with a 7-0 record at New Orleans Arena.